Return to Dragon Island

"Let me see what is so extraordinary about you, a mere Qi-Refiner!" the Green Lotus Celestial Maiden sneered coldly. Her killing intent surged to the heavens. Though she was a peerless beauty, she was more oppressive than an ancient giant. The four War Swords transformed into four rainbows thousands of feet long, forming a sword formation in the sky as they slashed and hacked at Taihao.

In the azure sea, furious waves reared up like mountains. Thick beams of sword-light, vast as mountain peaks, continuously burst forth—these were the primal earth energies Taihao had drawn from the earth's veins. They barely held back the four War Swords.

Sword energy crisscrossed, shattering the void and completely overwhelming that expanse of space. Everywhere was blinding, dazzling light. The killing intent made the cultivators in this sea region tremble in fear, their hearts filled with dread.

Though the primal earth energy was endless, it still could not truly withstand the four War Swords. Those heaven-reaching, terrifying rainbows continuously slashed down. If not for the world-shaking might of the Haotian Pagoda, it would have been impossible to resist those peerless sword edges.

The Haotian Pagoda hovered above Taihao's head, constantly vibrating. Chaotic primal qi trickled out, a primeval aura covering heaven and earth. Taihao's figure was hazy and indistinct, as if he stood in an ancient era, using his earth-shaking divine power to block the peerless sword energy that hacked at him.

At the same time, the nine Azure Jade Lotus Leaves also flew in a circle, each leaf's edge like an azure cloud blotting out the sky. With every tremor, they shattered the divine mountains that had been pulled from the sea floor, one after another.

Though Taihao continuously used his great power to grab divine mountains tens of li long from the seabed and refine them into magical artifacts to strike at the sky, he still could not resist the nine Azure Jade Lotus Leaves, which pressed down like mountain ranges.

Vast ripples, surging and overwhelming, seemed to cause all the stars in the sky to fall. This gave Taihao immense pressure. The divine veins tens of li long around him were constantly shattered. Though divine mountains were densely packed on the seabed, they could not withstand the pressure of the nine jade leaves.

In the sky, mountains crumbled and giant rocks flew apart. Broken mountain ranges, crushed by that sky-rending force, kept falling into the sea. Taihao grew more and more strained. The ancient mountains that rose from the seabed and shot into the sky became fewer and fewer, gradually unable to hold back the nine Azure Jade Lotus Leaves.

"Taihao… the old man is actually Taihao!" Xiao Chen was stunned, finding it hard to believe.

Wasn't Taihao the same as Fuxi?

Fuxi was revered as the first of the hundred kings, an ancient emperor and sovereign, honored as the ancestor of human civilization, and was indeed one of the true Ancestral Gods.

But the Taihao in the sky was clearly not an Ancestral God. From the Green Lotus Celestial Maiden calling him an "old barbarian," one could roughly deduce that he was not the same person as Fuxi.

Recalling those historical records and myths, there always seemed to be two voices.

In reliable pre-Qin texts, when Taihao was mentioned, Fuxi was not; when Fuxi was mentioned, Taihao was not. Taihao and Fuxi had no connection whatsoever. Xunzi, writing at the end of the Warring States period, mentioned "Taihao" in his "Zhenglun" chapter and also spoke of "Fuxi" in his "Chengxiang" chapter—the two names appeared in the same book but were clearly not the same person.

The ancient texts of that era all recorded that Taihao was the ancestor and leader of the Eastern Yi tribe.

Recalling the relevant legends of that period, because they bordered the vast sea, Taihao had close dealings with some Qi-Refiners who had survived from antiquity. He cultivated the supreme Qi-Refining art and also mastered the newly emerging cultivation techniques. He could be said to have boundless magical power.

In reliable historical records, the first to combine Taihao and Fuxi into one was Liu Xin's Shijing at the end of the Western Han. Xiao Chen fell silent as he recalled the historical context. Clearly, Liu Xin had broken from the traditional ancient imperial system for the political needs of the late Western Han, equating Fuxi with Taihao solely to pave the way for the ruling class.

From then on, various texts gradually regarded Taihao and Fuxi as the same person. Fortunately, not all pre-Qin texts were destroyed; otherwise, even the Ancestral Gods would have been confused.

Instantly deducing the truth, Xiao Chen was deeply shaken. This was the legendary ancient figure Taihao—the ancestor of the Eastern Yi tribe, the source of the resplendent Shang dynasty!

Chi! Chi!

In the sky, the four War Swords blazed ever brighter. They extinguished the thousand-plus sword-beams as thick as giant mountains that had rushed up from the deep layers of the sea floor. The rising sword-light Taihao had controlled from the sea surface was severed.

The four War Swords broke through from high altitude and came down. With four consecutive booming impacts, they clashed hard against the Haotian Pagoda, causing the sea to surge into the heavens. The monstrous waves shattered all the clouds in the sky.

At the same time, the nine Azure Jade Lotus Leaves completely shattered all the ancient mountains that had risen from the sea. In the sky, everything was in chaos—broken divine mountains, snapped ancient veins constantly shattered and fell into the ocean. Taihao was sent flying. Though he was not injured, his expression was very grim.

The Green Lotus Celestial Maiden was definitely an anomaly in the cultivation world. Every half-ancestor possessed but one supreme treasured artifact, yet she had more—she was the most difficult half-ancestor to provoke in the cultivation world.

The Haotian Pagoda was one of the strongest supreme treasures in the cultivation world, able to suppress three half-ancestors in ancient times. But faced with these three sets of supreme artifacts—the Twelve-Grade Lotus Platform, the four War Swords, and the nine Azure Jade Lotus Leaves—it seemed unable to match them, a single tree against many.

"Elder Taihao, catch!" Xiao Chen shouted from the exit of the dimensional space. There, golden light swirled around the Golden Divine Halberd and black light flickered around the Dark-Iron Seal. He hurled the two ferocious weapons, causing the two demonic treasures to complain angrily, muttering a few words of displeasure.

Taihao's eyes shot out two strong beams of light. He instantly opened a spatial channel and caught the two artifacts, but immediately furrowed his brow. Though the two demon weapons were of astonishing grade, they were damaged beyond repair, far from unleashing their original power.

Sure enough, the moment Taihao directed the Haotian Pagoda to drive the two demon weapons upward, they immediately retreated.

The Golden Divine Halberd nearly shattered under the War Swords, and the Dark-Iron Seal nearly split apart under the light of the Twelve-Grade Lotus Platform and the vibrations of the nine lotus leaves.

The two demon weapons howled, smashed through space on their own, and fled back into Xiao Chen's hands.

"Motherf***er, it hurts!"

"I a#￥#T…" The spirits of the two demon weapons had not been sealed—this startled both Taihao and the Green Lotus Celestial Maiden.

"Old barbarian, unless you also have War Swords, you are no match for me," the Green Lotus Celestial Maiden snorted coldly. She did not attack again. People of their level were hard to kill unless they were sealed, but Taihao had the Haotian Pagoda, so she could not truly suppress him.

Taihao was silent for a long time. He did not want to give up on Qingqing, but he lacked treasures that could counter the War Swords.

Xiao Chen had once wielded the twenty-four War Swords, but all of them had been sealed in the spatial faults of the World of Immortality. In addition, he had an even more mysterious treasure within his body—the broken Stone Man—but he could not drive it, not even move it out of his body.

What power could he still use against a powerful half-ancestor? Xiao Chen was anxious; he did not want Qingqing to come to harm.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen thought of Chiyou, Tongtian, the Buddha, and the others in the World of Immortality. In that instant, a crazy idea came to him.

Borrow troops! Go to the World of Immortality and borrow troops!

"Kill that old witch! It was she who killed Ruoshui!"

Thinking of Ruoshui's death, Xiao Chen's heart ached. This was a strange feeling, a pain from the very depths of his heart that made him unbearably miserable. Ruoshui had already been severed from his heart—why was this happening? He could not explain it at all.

Xiao Chen cast a reluctant glance at Qingqing, then flew out of the dimensional space and shouted to Taihao: "Elder, let's go!"

Taihao looked at him with surprise. He did not want to give up on Qingqing, but he saw that Xiao Chen seemed to have another idea. After a brief hesitation, he came to Xiao Chen.

"Old barbarian, wise choice. It's just a disciple; you can take another later." The Green Lotus Celestial Maiden laughed arrogantly. "I'll remember this favor."

Xiao Chen looked at that familiar yet unfamiliar face of peerless beauty, and the deepest part of his heart ached sharply. He and Taihao instantly distanced themselves.

"Elder, that old witch has possessed the body. Is the original person completely dead?"

Taihao had already guessed what had happened from Xiao Chen's earlier behavior. He nodded. "Certainly, the original consciousness has been erased. Otherwise, how could she have taken over that body?"

"So the original person is completely dead?" Though he had forgotten everything that had happened, Xiao Chen still felt unbearably miserable. It seemed a light flashed through the depths of his heart, briefly opening a wound.

Taihao remained silent, tacitly acknowledging this.

"I will kill this old witch!" Xiao Chen clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Do you have a plan? Otherwise, Qingqing is in danger too."

"I have a plan, but first, I need Elder to come with me to the Nine Provinces to deal with someone."

"The Nine Provinces..." Taihao frowned. "That place is sealed. Above the Nine Provinces, cultivators above the Deathless Longevity realm suffer severe power loss and cannot exert their full strength."

Though he was reluctant to set foot in the Nine Provinces, for Qingqing's sake, Taihao unhesitatingly followed Xiao Chen toward that sealed land.

The two moved extremely fast and did not take long to appear over the Nine Provinces. Once there, Taihao's presence clearly weakened—a sign of how great the seal's influence was.

"What is your plan, exactly?"

"I want to enter the World of Immortality to borrow troops."

Taihao frowned. "How can you freely enter and leave the World of Immortality?"

"With this." Xiao Chen shook the jade bangle on his wrist.

"Eh... This is... a key?"

Xiao Chen nodded. "By using it to cut open the Lu Mountain waterfall, I can enter the World of Immortality."

"No need for such trouble. If you really can return with it, I can directly tear open space and send you into the World of Immortality."

Xiao Chen shook his head. "Impossible. I've tried before with someone else. Tearing open space in other places does not allow the jade bangle to cross over. A force prevents it from crossing worlds."

"The Nine Provinces seal..." Taihao frowned, as if remembering something. He said, "Lu Mountain is a gate. Let's go quickly and try to force our way through."

"The guardian of the Lu Mountain gate is very powerful. Only someone like Elder can hold him off."

Worried about Qingqing's safety, Taihao and Xiao Chen appeared at Lu Mountain at top speed.

A white ribbon hung before the cliff, a waterfall plunging three thousand feet. Misty vapors swirled, and the thundering roar shook the mountains and rivers.

Before the magnificent waterfall, Taihao materialized out of thin air. His divine sense swept out, and he instantly pointed a finger, shattering the giant cliff before him. He said in a deep voice, "Come out and meet me."

The sound of boulders cracking rang out. Tonghu manifested within the stone wall, still hunched over, withered and weary, as if he had little time left.

"Who are you?" Tonghu's cultivation was profound, and he naturally recognized that Taihao was unimaginably powerful.

Taihao did not answer. He directly offered up the Haotian Pagoda. Vast chaotic primal qi covered heaven and earth. The pagoda shed thousands of auspicious rays as it enveloped downward.

"The Haotian Pagoda?!" Tonghu cried out in alarm and tried his utmost to resist.

At the same time, Xiao Chen activated the Eight Aspect Worlds with incredible speed, rushing to the Lu Mountain waterfall. The jade bangle on his wrist cut through space, revealing Dragon Island. In that instant, he charged into the spatial tunnel.

He had naturally heard Tonghu's voice and his heart stirred. This old man seemed not simple. If that were the case, Tianwaitian and Renwaiyong might be even more extraordinary—had they already reached the half-ancestor realm? If so, perhaps he would not need to enter the World of Immortality.

But he could not take that risk. The opportunity could not be missed.

"Elder, I may be gone for a long time. During this time, you must hold off that woman and never let Qingqing come to harm."

Taihao nodded. "Rest assured, I will not let her succeed."

Inside the spatial channel, light flickered behind him. Tonghu's roar came from far away, but then the sound vanished as the channel closed.

Dim light seeped through from ahead. Xiao Chen was pushed forward by a force like a surging flood.

Time seemed to stop, yet also seemed to fly past. He had a sensation of temporal chaos.

Finally, the light ahead grew brighter and brighter. He could vaguely see the exit, and a primeval aura rushed to meet him.

Yes, that was right—it was the aura of Dragon Island.

Xiao Chen was especially familiar with it, having lived there for over a year.

Shua!

A flash of light, and Xiao Chen was ejected from the spatial channel, as if he had been carried along by a great river with no way to swim back.

"ROAR!"

An ear-splitting dragon cry shook heaven and earth. The rolling sound waves agitated the sky, nearly rupturing Xiao Chen's eardrums as he appeared in the sky.

Below, primeval mountain ranges rose majestically. Luxuriant forests stretched endlessly, with the cries of gibbons and the roars of tigers—a scene of pristine wilderness.

Dimly, he could see a Tyrant Dragon in the primeval forest ahead, devouring a huge mutant elephant. The scene was extremely bloody. The ten-meter-long elephant struggled, showering blood everywhere as white bones were exposed. The Tyrant Dragon split the elephant open.

The moment he entered Dragon Island, Xiao Chen sensed something was wrong. His power rapidly drained away. In an instant, he fell from demigod to the Ninth Heaven of Spirit-Treasury.

The island suppressed divine power. Even the mighty Devil Chiyou, when not fully awakened on Dragon Island, had only displayed demigod-level power.

Xiao Chen quickly rushed down from the high sky to avoid being discovered by the dragons or primeval ancient beasts in the mountain ranges and cause trouble.

Standing on a cliff face, Xiao Chen said to himself, "Dragon Island... I have returned!"

Xiao Chen had forced his way through the Lu Mountain gate with Taihao's help not only to save Qingqing but also to fulfill an equally important wish: to rescue Keke.

Ever since he had learned of the little snow-white beast's condition, Xiao Chen had not had a single peaceful day. The little creature was too lonely and pitiful. Its desolate appearance tore at his heart.

In a daze, he seemed to hear the little thing's sobbing again.

He had to take the little one away. No more suffering for it.

Xiao Chen flew cautiously through the primeval forest. On Dragon Island, he dared not be careless in the least, because both in the sky and on the ground there were extremely terrifying primeval ancient beasts. One careless move could spell complete ruin.

Furthermore, there should be an extremely dangerous person here whom he needed to guard against carefully.